FORT MYERS, Fla. — It's been nearly 20 years since Bryan Dos Santos Gomes, also known as Baby Bryan, was taken from his mother at knifepoint in Fort Myers, Florida.
On Tuesday, investigators released a new image and a video detailing the case in hopes that more people would come forward with information about Bryan's case.
Bryan was just four weeks old when he was taken from his mother, Maria Dos Santos Ramos. Now that he's 18, investigators are hoping that by drawing attention to the case, they'll reach him.
On Dec. 1, 2006, Maria, Bryan's mother, was heading back from a doctor's appointment with her friend, Janice, Janice's daughter, and a 4-week-old Bryan when they were approached by a 1998 or 1999 black Ford Explorer.
A woman driving the SUV asked the two for directions, saying she was looking for her mother's house in Pine Manor and that she was unfamiliar with the area because she was from Tampa.
While in the car, the woman told them that she had a baby boy named Jose Guadalupe just 11 days prior and that her husband was a truck driver currently working in the Dallas, Texas, area. She also used Janice's phone to call her mom, but investigators say she was actually dialing what investigators called a "pole shed," a place where landscaping and irrigation workers "congregate." The woman left two voicemails.
Maria and Janice got into the SUV to help the woman find her mother's house. As they approached the Pine Manor area, the woman said she did not see her mother's house and began to drive them back to drop them off.
Janice was told to get out of the SUV with her daughter, but the woman told Maria to stay in the car with Bryan. The woman, who pulled out a knife, pushed Maria back before she drove away.
Janice flagged down a man driving by to call 911. Inside the car, Maria was terrified and had no idea where she was.
The woman then drove Maria and Bryan 15 miles away before stopping at a church. She then forced Maria out of the car, holding a knife to her stomach and threatening her. The two have not been seen since.
"I want Bryan back. I want Bryan back every day," Maria said in a newly released video.
Investigators believe the woman kidnapped Bryan to raise him as her own. He is now 18 years old, and they're hoping by drawing attention to the case, they'll reach him.
The suspect is described as a heavy-set Hispanic woman who was in her late 20s during the time of the incident.
"This case has always mattered, and it still matters today," Fort Myers Police said during a press conference on Tuesday.
If you have any information about this case, you're urged to contact 1-800-843-5678 or contact the Fort Myers Police Department.
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